astraphobia
by TheLostRelic
Summary: "Because one day there would be Jason's and Annabeth's to deal with. So for now, they just held each other, hidden away in their own world, in their own sanctuary, preserved indefinitely in a single moment that like lightning began and ended in an instant yet stretched into infinity." In which Percy is petrified of lightning, and Reyna helps in the only way she knows. Percy/Reyna.


**astraphobia**

* * *

_'Tis said of love that it sometimes goes, sometimes flies; it wounds one, another it kills: like __**lightning**__ it begins and ends in the same moment..._

"Hey, Gwen, have you seen Percy anywhere?" Reyna asked frantically, racing up to the red-haired girl.

The other girl blinked once, and shook her head sadly. "I'm afraid I haven't seen him since lunch. Why do you want to know? Finally going to ask him out?" Gwen asked, edging the brunette playfully with her elbow. Reyna swatted her hand away with a scowl, her cheeks flushed, slowly turning crimson despite her willing them not to.

"_Focus_, Gwen. It's to talk about strategies for when we meet the _graecus_," she snapped. Gwen gave her a sly smile, and an unconvinced "Oh," in response. Reyna shook her head disdainfully, and sped away before Gwen could tease her further.

_Where are you, Jackson? _she thought to herself with quiet desperation.

A foreboding boom overhead made her flicker her eyes upwards. A solitary droplet struck her nose, and she screwed her face up in disgust. The sky had been dark and cloudy for the majority of the day, but after lunch it had really taken a turn for the worse, dying the sky an inky black that promised rain. Rain would make it nearly impossible to find Percy, and she was having a hard enough time as it was. None of the centurions she had talked to knew where he had disappeared to.

Reyna had been searching for her quirky raven haired co-Praetor for the majority of the day, but her search was turning up fruitless. Her eyes flickered up towards the sky again when another muffled boom resounded through the clouds.

_Cumulonimbus, _Reyna thought to herself absent-mindedly. Thunderclouds.

She quickly retreated into one of the many storefronts that dotted the square in New Rome. Not a second after she had slipped inside, the pre-ambulatory drizzle evolved, and became a torrential downpour. After sliding into an empty window seat, Reyna steepled her fingers, resting her head lightly atop them, watching the centurions outside seeking reprieve from the rain as they rushed into various stores. Within minutes, the square was vacated, and almost impenetrably dark.

Reyna let out a shuddery breath, and gently closed her eyes, mentally reviewing the events that had occurred earlier in the day. Everything had gone fine, even the Senate Meeting where Octavian cried bloody murder over the impending Greek visit. As a cunning politician, Reyna had quickly subdued his outcries with help from Percy who had direct experience with _graecus_, and as such could properly vouch for them, and dispel any misgivings about them.

In retrospect, however, she did remember seeing him more fidgety than usual, playing with his fingers or his hair or his camp necklace. On more than one occasion, he stole a furtive, nervous glance out the window to look up at the sky. At the time, she had attributed that to his being an undisciplined _graecus _that simply couldn't hold still, but there was a gleam to his eye that worried her now when she recalled it. She had no idea what to make of it. With Percy, she often didn't.

With a sigh, she shook her head, causing stray droplets to fly off her hair like glistening projectiles. She wearily waived a server over to grab a cup of black coffee. She needed the pick-me-up after a day as exasperating as the one she was currently having. Her mouth formed a wry smile when she remembered that she used to think that Jason was confusing. Percy definitely one-upped him in that category. The boy positively baffled her. What idiot would play Russian Roulette with Phineas over Gorgon Blood?

_He's either really stupid or really brave. Probably both, _she thought dryly.

Her coffee arrived shortly, and she relished the hot, bitter liquid as it ran down her throat. She could literally feel the energy coursing through her body. In some ways, she supposed Percy fascinated her in a way that Jason never had. Jason was predictable, but Percy was capricious. He caught her off-guard with uncanny frequency. Jason was disciplined, Percy lived to break rules. There was not a single Roman bone in his body. Reyna was absolutely taken with him.

Time had changed her opinion of him drastically. She went from hating every fiber of his being to begrudgingly accepting him to becoming intrigued with him to harboring a crush on him. He didn't have any memories of his life before Juno had plucked him out of his old Camp, so she felt it wrong to make any advances towards him. A guy as good looking as him had to have had a girlfriend back where ever he had came from. The thought made her throat constrict unpleasantly. Reyna didn't like the idea of a girl waiting for him across the continent.

She wasn't exactly sure when she had stopped liking Jason, and transitioned to liking Percy, but it had happened. For the umpteenth time, she cursed Venus under her breath for doing this to _her_, a daughter of Bellona. _It wasn't natural_. It wasn't natural for her heart rate to triple whenever he walked by. It wasn't natural for her to lose her breath whenever he smiled his dazzling smile at her. It wasn't natural for her to revel in the moments when he teased her for being too uptight or Roman. It just wasn't natural, but it had happened anyways.

A shard of lighting split through the air, tearing through the cloud front with primal violence. The following crash made her wince slightly. It was much too loud. This was a severe thunderstorm. Reyna hoped that it wouldn't flood the Little Tiber. That would have been most unfortunate indeed.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to her, and she rolled her eyes as she swore under her breath. His praetor house! She hadn't bothered to check his stupid house. Gods, was she an idiot. Reyna stole a glance out the window. The rain was almost suffocating in its downpour, but she felt a pressing need to find Percy nonetheless. There was a simmering feeling inside her stomach that made her feel uneasy. She just knew that there was something wrong with him, and that she had to find him at all costs.

Reyna readjusted the straps of her royal purple toga before opening the door and sprinting through. The rain rushed up to meet her instantly, crushing her under the weight of a million rain drops. She winced as each rain drop struck her, stinging and frigid. If she didn't get to his house in time, there was a very good chance that she would contract pneumonia, and that wasn't good at all. Reyna grit her teeth as she braved her way through the storm, trying to find Percy's house. She didn't know why she felt this incredible coercive force in her pushing her towards him, but she didn't have time to question it now. She had made her decision, and she was going to live with it.

Through the intermittent flashes of lightning, Reyna somehow found her way to his house. She pounded on the door, and jumped back in surprise when the unlocked door swung open creakily. Cautiously, she walked into the unlit foyer, and gave her eyes a second to adjust to the darkness. Reyna clenched and unclenched her fists to restore some blood flow. She staggered over to the dishwasher, and used a hand towel to pat her face dry. She smiled when she saw the tower of dirty dishes heaped on top of one another in his sink. It was no surprise that he hadn't washed them yet.

"Percy?" she called out quietly, walking into the living room. There was no answer.

Quietly, she stole up the stairs, her feet padding softly against the carpet. She looked through the hallway, wondering which way she should go. She settled on the right, and followed the hall down to find him. None of the rooms on the right held any sign of his presence, and it was the same with the left side. She opened his bedroom last, and sighed when she found that it too was deserted. Just then a particularly close and cacophonous strike of lightning shook the house. She turned to leave when she heard the slightest whimper coming from the closet.

Reyna furrowed her brow as she made her way around his bed, towards the closet where she had heard the sound. There was a persistent, choppy sound coming from inside, like someone hyperventilating.

"Percy?" she whispered again as she swung open the closet door.

The sight inside made her heart stop. Percy was sprawled against the darkest recesses of the closet, practically burrowing into the wall, curled in upon himself. His left hand was clawing at the plastered wall as though he was trying to find something to hold on to, and the scratches left behind from his nails, bloodied from the effort. His usually vivacious sea green eyes were lackluster and unfocused as they quivered in the darkness. Percy was gasping as though he couldn't get enough oxygen into his lungs, and Reyna could see the remnants of dried tears tracks on his face. What tore at Reyna's heart the most was how his lithe frame heaved with dry sobs with unsettling rapidity.

"Percy!" Reyna cried out, sinking to her knees besides him. Percy made no mention to indicate he had heard; he was so trapped in his fear that he hadn't even noticed her presence.

For several panic stricken seconds, Reyna wondered what she should do. She was never any good at comforting people, and this was so far out of her comfort zone that she was at a loss. Reyna shut her eyes tightly and gnashed her teeth, finally allowing herself to let go of her inhibitions. Instinctively, but awkwardly, Reyna wrapped her cold arms around him. Percy instantly clung to her like a new born baby, his hand grasping at her toga tightly. His fingers bunched up the material, clawing tighter and tighter.

Reyna held him flush against her body, and in different circumstances, she would have very embarrassed, but right now all she could think about was how much he was shaking in her arms. Unconsciously, she tightened her hold on him. The familiar oceanic scent clung to his body, but the pungent odor of cold sweat was intermingled. Without thinking, Reyna ran her hands through Percy's hair in a comforting gesture.

Another strike of lightning caused Percy to jolt and quake in her arms. He gave a short anguished scream that made her blood chill in their veins. She held his head to her heart so that he could focus on the constant, rhythmic pounding, providing a silent, powerful assurance. Percy's hold lessened fractionally, but Reyna picked up on it right away. It continued to loosen as he was lulled into a deep calm listening to the drum of her heart beat.

Reyna began to sing quietly in spanish, remembering a song her father had sang to her in a nearly forgotten life. Hylla had sung her the same song when she would cry on Circe's Island. To Reyna, the song was synonymous with comfort and solace during tough times. As she sang, she felt Percy relax further in her arms until finally, he had the strength to peer up at her, his eyes glistening with unshed tears.

"R-Reyna?" he whispered. Reyna thought he sounded like a wayward child.

"Yes, Percy?"

"Thank you," he whispered before clinging to her once again.

This time when Reyna's arms snaked around his torso, she didn't feel the least bit awkward. She just took notice of how her teeth chattered from the effects of the frosty rain that clung to her skin and the fabric of her toga. Percy looked up at her again with concern so deep that she felt her heart flutter.

"You're cold," he said, so quietly he could have been speaking to himself. Then suddenly he sat up, and his eyes regained a sense of stability. "Holy Zeus, Reyna! You're freezing! Did you run through the storm?" he asked incredulously.

"Sh-Shut u-up! I-I'm f-fine!" Reyna stammered weakly, and Percy shook his head sadly.

"Come here, you," he whispered before entangling her in his arms.

Reyna melted against him, and curled against him for warmth. She felt him press something towards her, and she realizes that he was offering him his sweatshirt. They were in his closet after all. Reyna coughed, and he politely turned his head away, but Reyna felt a trill of excitement course through her when she registered the crimson flush against his cheeks. Fluidly, she removed the toga and her shirt before slipping into his sweatshirt.

With a contented sigh, Reyna fell back into his arms, practically sitting on his lap. Percy held her firmly, and offered her all the body heat that he could provide. He felt so warm, so full of life. Percy swayed gently side to side, and when his hands ran up and down her back, Reyna shivered pleasurably.

"Why would you do that, you crazy girl?" he asked quietly.

Reyna shot him a half-hearted glare before sighing. "I-I don't know. I just knew you were in trouble for some reason."

Percy chuckled warmly, and shook his head again. "But running in the rain like that..."

"Would it be better if I hadn't come?" she challenged.

"No," Percy confessed, and when she smiled, he smiled back.

Then she was craning her face up towards him, and he was leaning down to meet her. Their lips brushed against each other softly, sweetly, and Reyna struggled to avoid swooning in his arms. Her hands instinctively curled into his hair, and his found her face. It was everything that a kiss should be. Reyna felt like she had been zapped with lightning, and considering the circumstances, she found it an appropriate comparison.

When they both breathlessly withdrew, Reyna felt flustered, but when she saw the way Percy was looking down at her, with such softness and caring, she felt something churn inside her stomach. She felt... content. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt that way, but she did now: holding a strangely suicidal boy in the darkness of his closet after he had suffered from a traumatic episode. It was perfect.

"I-I wanted to do that for a really long time," Percy confessed nervously, his hand rubbing the back of his neck.

Reyna smiled despite herself. "I'm glad you did," she whispered before she closed the distance again.

Percy took her back into his arms for the third time that night, and by now the rain had stopped and the sky had cleared. The violent lightning, tearing and rending the air, was nothing more than a passing memory. The two teens cocooned themselves in the still of the darkness, and just _were_. They did nothing more than exist. They weren't Reyna, stoic Praetor of New Rome, or Percy Jackson, Savior of Western Civilization. They were just Percy and Reyna. For once, they just let themselves _be_.

Reyna caught Percy looking through the window, up at the sky. "So, 'fraid of a little lightning, huh?" Reyna teased, her lips curving upwards in a smile.

Percy smiled down at her. "Guess you could say that," he said wryly before sobering. "It's just that.. I don't know, maybe it's because of Zeus-er, Jupiter. Maybe lightning is something all children of Poseidon are supposed to fear, supposed to respect, you know?"

She remained silent at that, content to just hold him a little tighter. He smiled a heart melting smile, and held her a little bit tighter as well. Maybe that's just what they needed more than anything else: closeness. Because one day, the Argo II would arrive at New Rome, and there would be Jason's and Annabeth's to deal with. So for now, they just held each other, hidden away in their own world, in their own sanctuary, preserved indefinitely in a single moment that like lightning began and ended in an instant yet stretched into infinity.

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**A/N: Okay, I rewrote this like ten times. I swear to god. But it turned out well, so all's well that ends well. This is totally inspired by Mitsukai's story "Astraphobia." I assure you, I'm not smart enough to think of stuff like this on my own. I kind of wavered between featuring Reyna and Annabeth, but I settled around Reyna. I chose Reyna because to bring out the more caring nature inside her, which is something not a lot of stories deal with. Contrary to popular belief, Reyna's not a robot that can't feel emotions. I guess I just wanted to showcase that. I probably didn't do a super good job conveying that, but now you know! As always: Follow, Favorite, and Review!**

**PS: I'll proofread later. I'm busy. =D**

**PSS: The quote is also cut short; it's a really long one, but I wanted to highlight only the lightning piece. **


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